have kept the passengers at bay for the 20 more minutes the flight needed to reach its target, the u.s. capitol. that would have been catastrophic. and if katani died on flight 93, he would not have been captured and we would not have learned the name of bin laden's courier from him. he's a little like the jimmy stuart character thein a movie getting played a lot this week. george saved miz brother, harry, from falling through the ice in. it happens in real life, too. one person can make a difference. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. >> thanks, michael. and thanks to you for tuning in. i'm live tonight from atlanta. tonight's lead?

breaking news. president obama issues a stern warning to republicans. do your jobs for the good of the american people. just moments ago, he held a press conference and said lawmakers can stop tax hikes on lower and middle class americans. >> i just spoke to speaker boehner and i also met with senator reed. in the next few days, i've asked leaders of congress to work towards a package that prevents a tax hike on middle class americans, protects unemployment insurance for 2 million americans and lays the ground work for further work on both growth and deficit reduction. that's an achievable goal. that can get done in ten days. once this legislation is agreed to, i expect democrats and republicans to get back to washington and have it pass both chambers. and i will immediately sign that legislation into law before

january 1st of next year. it's that simple. >> it's that simple. he urged congress to think of the american people this holiday season. >> i hope it gives everybody some perspective. everybody can cool off. everybody can drink some eggnog, have some christmas cookies, sing some christmas carols, enjoy the company of loved ones. and then i'd ask every member of congress while they're at home to think about that. think about the obligations to the people who sent us here. >> today's news comes after the right wing handed speaker boehner a crushing defeat last night. they refused to support his plan b because it wasn't extreme enough. so what was his plan c? let everyone go on christmas vacation. and as for that that deal on

taxes? the speaker doesn't have a clue. >> what are we going to do now? >> i'm interested in solving the major problems that face our country. >> how we get there, god only knows. >> god only knows? we don't need divine intervention. we need a speaker who can get his party in line. twice, gop leaders can assure everyone they had the votes for a deal. speaker boehner even filled the plan with goodies for the far right. cuts to food stamps, cuts to health care, cuts to medicaid and, still, the far right refused. they'd rather raise taxes on everyone than raise taxes on millionaires. yet, who's the gop blaming for this mess? the speaker, the extremists in the party? nope. >> this isn't john boehner's

problem to solve. i've said it many times before. we simply cannot solve the problems we face unless and until the president of the united states either finds the will or develops the ability, the ability, to lead. >> it's the president's fault? that your own party is in shambles? that he's ignoring the will of the people? it's no wonder 53% of the gop is unconcerned with the welfare of the people, particularly those in the lower and middle income levels. folks tend to get that impression when you hold 98% of americans hostage to the interest of the rich. the republican party is a mockery at this point. but what they're doing to the country is far from funny. joining me now is columnist for the washington post and an msnbc contributor. and jared bernstein is also an

msnbc contributor. and former chief e cconomist fo vice president joe biden. >> e.j., we just heard from the president. what's your take? >> well, my take is that the republican party in the house in particular does not seem to be interested in governing or at least about 30-60 members of that caucus aren't. whoen you look at what happened here, president obama moved very far toward the republicans in his proposal. there's a lot of stuff in that proposal that his own supporters don't like very much. there was very little distance, really, between the president's proposal and where boehner said he was. but the republicans just are not interested in compromising. and i think the only way out of this is going to be a deal if boehner would allow it, where you're going to need a lot of

democratic votes united to those republicans who know we've got to solve this problem. i think it's a real crisis in the government if we keep going like this. >> now, when you look at this, jared, the president said something that was key. he said that he had just spoke to speaker boehner. he also said this can be done in the last ten days. he came out himself chl he didn't send out a statement. he did something bold. he came out, addressed the public, laid the child out himself. he said he had spoken to the speaker and harry reed. does this mean that the president feels this deal can be done? and what do you think, jared? >> i'm skeptical on both counts, i'm afraid to say. perhaps eggnog and the company of loved ones and a few christmas carols will help. but i don't think so. the president was essentially

offering the senate bill legislation that's been on the table for a long time. it very much implies that the upper-income bush tax cuts expire, which, as we've talked about many times, was initially very much part of this platform. and, as e.j. pointed out, he's actually already compromised on that by lifting the income threshold from 250,000 up to 400,000. i don't know why that would repeal a plan that is far, far less acceptable to senate democrats. so i don't want to be negative and maybe things could change. but unless john boehner is willing to get that kind of deal over the transom with largely democratic support, i think we may well be headed over the cliff. >> but, e.j., the politics of this is crushing. and maybe the target of the president is not those republicanings. it might be what you started out

talking about, and that is whether boehner will decide to go with a minority of the majority. he just spoke with boehner. boehner has been brutally attacked for what happened last night by conservatives. look at this. washington post conservative columnist jennifer rubin called the fiasco a stunning miscalculation. boehner lost control of the caucus and with it, any juice he might have. i mean, the washington examiner says boehner is now useless. if i'm john boehner and they've already given me this humiliating defeat, what do i have to lose to come back and deal with a minority of the majority if, in fact, it will save the american people of this kind from going over the cliff and the repercussions that go with it. >> i do think he has kind of a

moment of conscious over this holiday and a moment of decision. it's worth noting generjennifer rubin's piece for giving everything the sense that they can recover. she's a conservative. a lot of conservatives are saying that. if there's any hope that we get some kind of resolution or at least partial resolution to keep us from going over the cliff. i think it's, a, boehner decides that no matter what the house is going to do in terms of electing him speaker, the right thing to do and the way to look better in history and to americans is to try to make a deal. but i also think you're seeing an awful lot of criticism in the republican house. but i think from republicans themselves who say wait a minute, we cannot present to the country this image of being incapable of reaching basic decisions. and we can't be held acountable for throwing this over the cliff. so i think there is some

possible possibility jared's pessimism is there. they're going to have second thoughts about where this is as a party. >> can i comment on that, rev? >> yep. >> imagine that they pass something like the president just offered sometime in very late december, 28th, 29th. literally, a few days later, they could pass the same thing. and even though it sounds very silly, republicans would score it as a massive tax cut because it would be off a new law baseline that inclupds the higher tax rates. if you're a republican that doesn't want to be on record as voting for an increase, you just wait a few days. we won't make a difference to the economy as we do a bunji jump as opposed to a cliff dive. it's not necessarily a terrible outcome, but it might be more

real than some people's political outlooks. >> i wish jared were wrong, but he might be right about that. >> when you look -- jared, let me ask you this -- when you look at the deal that they voted against, that they voted with boehner, would have raised taxes .3%. a plan that grover norquist said did not violate the tax pledge. so i understand there are some republicans that want to be able to always say to their constituents they never voted for a tax hike. but this is the reason why e.j. is say iing it's like they won' take yes for an answer. >> this plan b was a complete nightmare. you're absolutely right. by the way, i was saying it's sp it's .3%.

but boehner was saying .2%. and if you look at the tax benefits because you would be -- you would be holding the rates where they are for people between 250 and a million relative to what the president is talking about, it's actually a tax cut of about 110,000 per year for millionaire families. how are you making up the losses of that revenue? by cutting the heck out of food stachs and medicaid and kids' insurance. this is the stuff we were arguing with ryan and mitt romney about. >> well, let me ask quickly. e.j., will we go over the cliff? or will this be solved by the end of the year in the next ten days. >> my head mostly says we're going to go over. i just have this feeling that we're not done with this. that this was a very bad 24 hours for the republicans and they may have second thoughts. by the way, where is general

ryan? he didn't come out at all today. >> i fear we're probably going over, i hope e.j. is right in that i hope if we go over, it's a bunji jump, not a cliff dive. >> thank you for your time this evening. both of you have a great weekend. >> merry christmas, reverend. >> merry christmas to you. still ahead, president obama makes a big announcement about his security team. but why are republicans still going after susan rice? plus, the tea party's dear john letter to boehner. can democrats take them out before they take down the country? also, the nra comes face-to-face with reality. the american people say guns are part of the problem. not part of the solution. >> nra has blood on its hands. the nra has blood on its hands.

shame on the nra. ban assault weapons now. >> you won't believe what the nra wants to do to our schools. you're watching "politics nation" on msnbc. i always wait until the last minute.

can i still ship a gift in time for christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery.

today's biggest reaction came from the protest that broke out at the nra press conference. fred says interesting that the nra is talking about security while being unable to secure its own press conference. jodi asked will the nra never admit that assault weapons are not necessary and kill countless people? our fans also love this photo of the president observing a moment of silence for sandy hook this morning.

derold said i prayed that we can learn how to resolve problems without the use of guns. we want to hear what you think, too. please, head over to facebook and search po"politics nation" d like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. [ female announcer ] research suggests cell health

plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day women's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for women's health concerns as we age. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day 50+. call me a hopeless optimist, but i actually still think we can get it done. and, with that, i want to wish every american a merry christmas and, you know, because we didn't get this done, i will see you next week.

>> president obama just moments ago reaffirming his commitment to getting a deal on taxes before the fiscal cliff on new year's. the president made the point that this is a real-world issue with real world consequences. it's not just some game for politicians to play inside the beltway. >> nobody can get a hundred percent of what they want. and this is not simply a contest between parties in terms of who looks good and who doesn't. they're real world consequences to what we do here. and i want next year to be a year of strong economic growth. i want next year to be a year in which more jobs are created. and more businesses are started. and we're making progress on all of the challenges that we have out there. >> there's too much going on, too much at stake for

republicans to hold the economy hostage just because they want to protect the rich. this is a question of fairness. and we must continue to fight for it. joining me now is congressman steve coen, democrat from tennessee and former pennsylvania governor, ed rendell. thanks to both of you for being here tonight. >> good evening, rev. >> nice to be with you. >> congressman, let me start with you. the president said nobody can get a hundred percent of what they want. but you've seen the right wing republicans in the house. they don't seem to get that. >> no, they don't. they're an immature group, politically. many of them were new to politics in 2010 and they came with the idea of no revenues and no taxes at all. and they -- you think you can see what the president has had to deal with for the last two years, people have questioned the president and his working across bipartisan ways.

he's tried to be bipartisan, but this group is rigid, immature. rich mcconnell wanted to beat the president. now, the president can't be beaten. they came to washington to change washington, but their main concern is reelection and they don't want anybody saying you raised taxes or you tax anybody, even the uber rich. >> but congressman, i want to be clear here because people listed plan b and may not understand. we're talking about them protecting the rich and cutting food stamps, cutting medicaid, cutting medicare. i mean, hurting middle class people, hurting poor people. and they act like this is some badge of honor? >> well, al, you know, the sad thing is their main concern was defense. and while it's important we pay our soldiers and take care of our veterans, there's a lot of defense equipment that is

unnecessary and expensive and really done for their contractors. that, they protected in their bill. they want to shred the safety net. their main thing is millionaires. bush attended some function up in new york and said that is he base. that is the base of the republican party. the uber wealthy. the coke brothers and all of those that fall in that upper echelon. they're getting a tax cut already with the president when he's given in and raised it to 400,000. the wealthy will pay the old rat rates on their first $400,000 of income. this whole thing of millionaires is absurd. and the president went far enough to 400,000. the idea was that the wealthy should sacrifice, too. the people who depend on government services would have sacrificed through the sequester. but the people who benefitted the most, the wealthy, should pay something.

when you get into 400,000, you're talking about the wealthy. >> governor rendell, the repercussions are already apparent when you see dow jones closed down near 121 points today after the plan b failure. the ramifications of this will only get worse if we go over the cliff. you have governed in pennsylvania. you have been known to sit people down and make deals and make people come together. can a deal be made here? can this be saved? >> well, it can be, rev, but it's not going to be easy. the president has a very difficult task. the other side is incredibly immature. the president said it could have been taken right from the rolling stones song, you can't always get what you want. and that's the truth. and the president should deliver

a stern message that if we go over the cliff, it's not going to be 400,000 or 500,000. we're going to do all the way up to the limit and it's going to be at 250,000, which the original tax rates are at. he should make it clear. this is their one chance to get that bit of a bargain if they want it. but it's very difficult when the other side is in chaos. you want someone from across the table from you to make a deal. then you can reach a ten shl compromise. right now, i doubt we have the ability to do that. >> isn't that the problem, though, governor, that we don't have real leadership on the other side that can deliver? i'll give you an example. something that struck me. national review reported on the closed door conference meeting that boehner held and it says -- i'm reading from the national review.

one republican told a magazine that when they realized boehner didn't have the votes, "my buddies and i said the same thing to each other." we lookd at each other, rolled our eyes and just groaned this is a disaster. it is a disaster if you're working with a guy that can't deliver his side of the deal. >> there's no question. it makes it very hard for the president and, worse, it makes it very hard for the country. look, there has to be revenue. let's say that a thousand times in a row so maybe we can get through some of these guys. there has to be a trillion dollars in revenue. we have more than a trillion. we have a seersz problem. there has to be cuts in the defense department budget. you could cut $80 billion a year

from the defense bujdget and no hurt it. on our side, rev, there's going to be some pain for some of the people that we would love to protect because we've got to give the other side something if we want them to come along. so we've got to be mature about it, too. i think in the end, most of our men and women will. but it's going to be tough on both sides. the president's got to lead, and i thought his statement today was terrific. >> representative cowen, you can give us your take on what the governor just said. we've got to go, but, please, respond about we're going to have to take a little pain on our side? >> i think there will have to be some. and we do support our president and speaker pelosi is a great leader in getting us to support what's important for the country and a fair bargain. and governor rendell has been such a leader on infrastructure, hopefully, there will be something about infrastructure because we need to improve our

economy and put america forward. that's the way to create these jobs and infrastructure to get us oftf of this fiscal cliff. >> congressman steve cohen, thank you for your time tonight. >> thanks, rev. >> always good to be with you. >> still ahead, the tea party built john boehner up. and, now, they're tearing him down. how should democrats respond to the mess? the right wing has created. but, first, we're saying good-bye to the so-called war on christmas. we found a republican lawmaker who actually takes this stuff serious. stay with us. ♪

♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of all day pain relief. this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills.

with christmas just days away, i wanted to update you on one of my favorite holiday traditions. the right wing war on christmas. they've really gotten into the spirit this season. >> we are pretty much the only ones covering the so-called war on christmas. >> let's talk about the war on christmas. >> we're not nuts, are we? there is a war on christmas. >> are they nuts? i won't answer that. but they've certainly convinced

people that this war is real. including at least one elected official. texas state lawmaker dewayne bohac is introducing legislation he calls the merry christmas bill. bohac thinks teachers are afraid to say merry christmas or happy hanukkah in schools. and he doesn't want anyone to be force today say holiday tree. oh, the horror. in fact, he told fox news, "if i hear it referred one more time as a holiday tree or holiday party c party, i'm going to throw up." please don't get sick, representative. this war on christmas is complete bologna. but folks on the right are getting desperate. >> santa, if you will, i understand you don't like to say happy holidays. why? >> i can't find any reference where santa's ever said anything other than merry christmas. >> what do you make of the

political correctness part of our culture? >> you have got the biggest belt buckle i have ever seen, santa? >> i like to say that the elves got the idea from elvis. >> that certainly was a big belt buckle. but did they really need a fake santa to prove their war on christmas is real? we don't need to ask santa, rudolph or frosty to know this is a joke. nice try, but we gotchya. and oh, yeah, happy holidays.

what we've seen with the gop in the past 24 hours is a classic case of you reap what you sow. republicans created a monster with the tea party. now, the monster has turned against them. the spokesman for the conservative american majority action says, "speaker boehner needs to resign.

he has no support among the american people. negotiating in secret and losing in public is a bad combo. good argument for a new speaker. eric ericson, one of the first on the right to call for boehner to be fired is celebrating boehner's plan b receipt. victory for now. house goes home. and here's what mark levin said just hours before boehner admitted he didn't have the votes for plan b. >> i'm so sick and tire e ed of being told boehner was delt a bad hand. if the man's not up to the job, get the hell out of the way. we delivered him to the house of representatives. he's speaker and he whines. get the hell off the stage, boehner. >> get off the stage. and he's a republican? ouch. but, look, speaker boehner rode

the tea party wave as long as he could. now, it's coming back to haunt him and his party. when the dust settles, what will it mean for the rest of us. joining me now, president and ceo of latino and an msnbc contributor and ryan grim. ryan, let me go to you first. from the start, republicans took an extremist stand against president obama. now, with just 11 days until the fiscal cliff, it seems the tea party is leading the gop into chaos. is there a way out? >> no, not for them. they seem to be operating as if they have some type of leverage. as if january 1st, we hit default and there's some type of crisis everybody has to respond to.

that's not at all the case. what happens is taxes go up on a lot of people and pentagon spending gets slashed. what they're worried about is the tea party in their own districts. so they don't want to vote to raise taxes. you know, they'd rather just see what harry reed and obama can do and let boehner just kind of twist in the wind here. >> you know, maria, you did that impression because when boehner's conference meeting was over and he admitted he didn't have to votes, it stunned the gop. i'm looking at a meeting where mike coffman said i've never seen anything like it where leadership just completely backed down. it is stunning. >> i think what ryan says is absolutely right. the problem right now with the gop is it's basically eating itself. and there's no place for them to go.

not only do they not have leverage, but all of the sudden, today, when the president came out and communicated to the american people saying we are trying to make sure that we don't go over the fiscal cliff, we are trying to make sure that you have a job the next day, come january 1 and that we're not slashing defense spending and you could go down the list. but also what the president is doing, he's also making sure that he's banking on some political capitol. even with the stuff that he presented today, he recognizes that that's just a band-aid. but the real issue that's coming up in the horizon is going to be the det cedebt ceiling. the debt ceiling can cause a global repercussion. >> does this not present an tunt opportunity? >> absolutely. not only did you overwhelmingly vote for me to come and fix government, but i'm also being able to demonstrate to you that

washington is broken and you're going to have to work very closely with your representatives. it gives him an opening with his mass globalization. everybody is saying what is he going to do with the 60 million people that he has in his data base. he's going to call the members of congress and say you better change it because we're on the president's side on this. >> now, ryan, the president cheerily has made the appeal, the compromise. the american public has opposed. they think the american party is an extreme inflexible. but in 2010, john boehner did everything he could to appeal to the tea party and not deal at all with compromise. listen to john boehner when he famously even had troubles saying the word compromise. >> but governing means compromising. >> that means working together. >> it also means compromising. >> it means finding common ground. when you say the word

compromise, a lot of americans look up and say oh, they're going to sell me out. >> so you did compromise? >> we found common ground. >> why won't you say -- you're afraid of the word. >> i reject the word. >> that was, ryan, two years ago this month. now he's saying let's compromise. and the tea party republicans are saying exactly that. you're selling us out. has the chickens come home to roost for the speaker? >> well, they sure have. you know, and he knew from the very beginning that this was going to be an awfully tough caucus for him to try to rule. and, you know, he did a couple things this week that while he's being publically humiliated, do help him to keep his job. anybody who would replace him into this fight with him. so mccarthy, paul rooiyan, eric cantor, they all kind of have blood on their hands. they all endorsed boehner's

strategy to try to push this through. so when it failed, it's not like there was anybody he could say i was telling you this the entire time. he didn't force the vote. he pulled it back, which is what the tea party wanted. so, in a sense, he obeyed the will of the tea party and gave them what they want, which is not to vote on this. if he had pushed it forward, forced the vote and it would have gone down, it would have been tough for him to get reelected as speaker on the third of january. but because he followed their will, what more does the tea party want? they control him rather than the other way around. as far as they're concerned, he's a perfect speaker. >> when you look at the political cost to this so far, i mean, when you look at president obama won reelection by a margin of 5 million votes.

democrats had a net gain of eight house seats. and they had a house popular vote by 1.2 million votes. the fact is, their brand of politics is extreme politics of the tea party has backfired big time on them. >> that's absolutely correct, reverend. what the difference between the boehner of 2010 and boehner of today is unless the tea party loses its voice, there's no way that a republican majority is ever going to hit the senate or the white house. he sees the big picture. and the problem is how does he bring the tea party with him. the likelihood of that is unlikely. . >> thanks for your time this evening. >> thank you, reverend. >> thank you. >> still ahead, the president makes a big move in his cabinet. but republicans are still on the attack. and still going after susan rice.

plus, america stands up to the nra. the gun lobby on vails a shocking proposal for our schools. that's next.

president obama made a big move today, nominating john kerry to replace hillary clinton as secretary of state. senator kerry has been a

powerful ally to the president, working as a special envoy on special missions in afghanistan and pakistan. he's a veteran of the vietnam war and back in 1971, he gave this courageous testimony about ending the war to the foreign relations committee. the panel he'd oversee decades later. >> how do you ask a man to be the last man to die in vietnam? how do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake? >> a warrior and statesman who knows the cost of war. that's who president obama named to be the new face of america's foreign policy. joining me now is bob schrum, senior advisor to john kerry's presidential campaign and now professor at nyu. bob, you've known senator kerry for a long time. what's your reaction to today's announcement? >> well, i think the president had the right line. he's the perfect choice.

he's the perfect choice for three reasons. first, hillary clinton and her service in that role has changed the nature of it. people around the world have come to expect a very larnl, a very senior figure as secretary of state. people look at him and say he was almost president of the united states. they know him. they take him very seriously. secondly, reverend, as you know because you were in all of those debates with him, he has an extraordinary mastery of foreign policy. he understands it. he also understands how to move things. and, third, he has a remarkable coolness under pressure. when everybody wrote us off, he said he had no chance for the nomination. he just kept going, had no press following us. never once did i see him lose his temper. he knew what he was doing. he knew he was going to stick to his course and he never, ever got pushed off.

i think that's a really important quality to have in america's chief diplomat. >> i concur. i don't know him as well as you did, but having run against him in the primaries and then worked with him around his election, i can agree with all that you've said about him personally. but let me ask you on a policy level, how will this change america's foreign policy? >> i don't think the foreign policy is going to fundamentally change. i think the president is the principle foreign policy officer in this govlt. but i think john kerry will be there giving advice. i think we've had two brilliant secretaries of state in a row. what's really happened the last four years aside from all the headlines about osama bin laden, the drone strikes and the fact that we're ending the war in iraq is that we've been restoring respect for america around the world.

i think kerry will make a huge contribution to that. >> now, believe it or not, just moments before the president was announcing his nomination of kerry, republicans were on the hill attacking susan rice over ben benghazi this afternoon. >> the word she told on 16, september was completely out of line with reality on the ground. i just thought she was very eager to tell a story that did not make a lot of sense. i believe to suggest this thing was anything other than a terrorist attack fit a political narrative. >> i think senator kerry will be confirmed. i don't think there will be a huge dust up about this. there may be no dust up at all. people in the senate know him. republicans have said how much they respect him. but i want to say a word about

susan rice. i know her and i've worked with her. she's a person on enormous talent and enormous integrity. you listen to the stuff we just heard. you're tempted to buy a line from history. senator, have you no sense of decency left? to suggest that this person who has given a lot to this country, somehow or other, was intentionally misleading americans is wrong. and i have some news for them if they don't like her. guess what, she's going to be around for the next few years as the united states ambassador to the united nations and a member of the cabinet. >> now, let me ask you quickly this. mr. kerry's nomination and you predict confirmation opens up the senate seat in massachusetts. and a lot of names are being flown ashd. but a poll says that if scott brown who was just defeated by democrat elizabeth warren, if he runs, 47% would vote for brown, 39% would vote for a generic

democrat. the democrats stand a chance to lose that seat and scott brown returned to the senate. >> well, there are two other polls up there. one of which shows him winning against democrats, the other that shows most of the democrats beating him. i think the fundamental structure of that case favors the democrats assuming they get a strong nominee. i think as we go through the next months and we talk about guns, we talk about immigration, we talk about tax fairness and the fiscal cliff. that's going to be tough for scott brown. people in massachusetts are not going to want to elect someone who goes down there and votes with these cooky americans. >> thanks for your time tonight. >> happy holiday. gh same to you. happy holiday. today, the nra made a stunning proposal for what it wants to do in america's schools. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ]

[ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. mmm... [ male announcer ] sounds good. it's amazing what soup can do. i don't have to leave my desk and get up and go to the post office anymore. [ male announcer ] with stamps.com you can print real u.s. postage for all your letters and packages. i have exactly the amount of postage i need, the instant i need it. can you print only stamps? no... first class. priority mail. certified. international. and the mail man picks it up. i don't leave the shop anymore. [ male announcer ] get a 4 week trial plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again.

at 9:30 this morning, people all across the country marked a moment of silence marking the shooting at sandy hook elementary school one week ago today. >> the silence spoke much louder than words, especially the words that we heard just a short time later. the nra held his first press conference since the tragedy. >> the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

we need to have every single school in america immediately deploy a protection program proven to work. and, by that, i mean armed security. >> the only way to solve gun violence is to call for more guns? and to blame politicians, video games, movies, music videos and, of course, the media? anybody and anything except guns. we've heard this kind of talk for years. it's not a solution to the gun violence we see. i was in chicago yesterday. a city in the midst of a killing epidemic. take a look at this map. >> it is not just in chicago or newtown. across america since 1979, more than 116,000 children and

teenagers have been killed by guns. we can't listen to anymore of this nonsense from the nra. the time for their talk is over. now is the time for action and real change. on gun control. the way to meet a bad guy with a gun and stop him is to make sure he doesn't have a gun. they need protection from bad guys having protection from them. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. happy holiday. >> coming out here to m mt. rushmore, it reminds you that there are big issues at stake. issues of equality. issue of the pursuit of happiness. issues of freedom and this country standing for something. these guys were all looking forward to what they wanted to build in this country. every one of them. and this place reminds you of

that. it's not just about petty arguments over tax and environmental regulations. but it's about what kind of country you want to live in.

sometimes what we suffer from is bigger than we think ... like the flu. with aches, fever and chills- the flu's a really big deal. so why treat it like it's a little cold? there's something that works differently than over-the-counter remedies. prescription tamiflu attacks the flu virus at its source. so don't wait. call your doctor right away. tamiflu is prescription medicine for treating the flu